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I didn’t understand her words. And I certainly hadn’t known her long enough to even guess at what she meant. “Let’s go to the kangaroos, shall we?” I suggested, placing my hand on hers.
We walked along silently, her hand in mine.
I couldn’t shake this horrible feeling that I’d screwed up somehow.
But every time I thought about what I’d done or said since the car—I wasn’t sure why she’d suddenly turned so quiet.
Up until now, we’d been having a fine time.
She’d been extremely grateful.
I’d made her laugh.
And vice versa.
But now, she’d suddenly closed herself up like some kind of bank vault.
What got to me the most was—why the hell did I care how Cherry felt?
For Christ’s sake, she wouldn’t even give me her real name.
And I was paying her to be here.
Confused, and not knowing what to do or how to handle the current situation—I did the only thing I could think of.
I kept walking with a beautiful, silent, rather sullen woman beside me.
We dodged around families and young people as we strolled. Cherry still quiet, only answering my mundane questions or comments with a small, forced smile or nod.
When we arrived at the kangaroos, a few children were hopping around us, imitating the pouched creatures in our view.
None of that was enough to elicit even the faintest reaction from Cherry.
Nothing.
I pulled her along to the monkey cages.
The amusing, entertaining mammals didn’t put so much as a grin on her face.
In fact, she seemed more subdued.
Gorillas. Those might work. So, I dragged her along behind me until we arrived at their cages.
Cherry shut her eyes and turned her back on the display. Her shoulders dropped, and her perfect chin began to wobble and quiver.
She drew in a hitched breath right before her hands covered her face.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, pulling her into my embrace.
Her body started shaking while she shook her head. “I hate the zoo,” she sputtered out as she cried.
I reached down and moved her hands away. “You hate the zoo? Why? Who hates the zoo?” I asked, my mind racing to think of a reason anyone might have such a strong reaction to animals.
Could she be scared?Even though they were safely behind bars?
“It’s all so sad,” she blurted out, diving into my chest and wrapping her arms around me.
I held her more tightly and asked, “What’s sad?”
